The Athletic’s latest 2020 NBA mock draft was not one done by draft expert Sam Vecenie but instead by beat writers. Each beat writer for a team in the top 10 in the draft order assembled to play out the top ten picks in the draft while also having the ability to trade.
After fielding offers for the No. 1 pick, Jon Krawczynski selected Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say with the pick.
“For this version, I wanted to explore the option of selecting Ball, who most believe is the best passer/playmaker in this draft. I’m concerned about his shot selection, his shooting percentage from deep and some redundancy with Russell, another player who thrives with the ball in his hands.
But I make this selection with the idea that a trade could be coming, on draft night or later. Wolves President Gersson Rosas and Executive VP Sachin Gupta both made it clear they will explore all options with this No. 1 pick. If they do want to try to trade it to get a more established player, there is some belief in league circles that Ball would have more value on the market than Edwards or James Wiseman or any other option.”
While it didn’t directly affect Ball in this mock draft, Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater fielded numerous trade offers for the No. 2 pick before settling on one of Kelly Oubre and the No. 10 pick to move up.
Other deals included a Blake Griffin-for-Andrew Wiggins deal that included the Warriors dropping for No. 2 to No. 7. The Knicks offer included both Julius Randle and Bobby Portis plus the No. 8 pick to move up.
Those deals give a sense of what it could require for the Warriors to move down and a team to move up and select Ball if the Timberwolves select Anthony Edwards.
